Among the most exciting of MGM swashbucklers, Richard Thorpe’s 1952 Ivanhoe stars Robert Taylor as the medieval hero of Sir Walter Scott’s novel. Returning to England from the Third Crusades, Ivanhoe is steadfast in his determination to raise the ransom for the captured King Richard (Norman Wooland), but the effort is full of peril. First is Ivanhoe’s reunion with his estranged father (Finlay Currie), a Saxon who hates the Norman king and refuses to give his son the money. Then there’s Ivanhoe’s unpopular rescue of a wealthy Jew, Isaac (Felix Aylmer), from anti-Semites, and the subsequent decision by Isaac’s beautiful daughter, Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor), to pay Ivanhoe’s entry fee in a tournament. (The strapped knight seeks the tourney’s cash prize.) Wait, it gets worse: two of Ivanhoe’s closest associates (played by George Sanders and Robert Douglas) collude with Richard’s evil brother, Prince John (Guy Rolfe), to discredit their friend and steal away Rebecca and another woman, Rowena (Joan Fontaine)–who also fancies Ivanhoe–for themselves. Yes, the situation looks grim, but surprise appearances by a couple of legendary hero types toward the end help level the playing field. Nonstop adventure to make one swoon, Ivanhoe is a gorgeous treat and reasonably faithful to the Age of Chivalry. Things worked out so well for this film, Thorpe and Taylor got together the next year to make Knights of the Round Table.

Hand Made Wood Tankards

2017 EPIC AWARD WINNER FOR SCIENCE FICTION

A catastrophic pandemic ravages the globe, reducing the human population to extinction levels.

An arrogant bookworm, a doomsday prepper, a brilliant scientist, and a journal-keeping poet are among those who survive the disease that annihilated almost everyone else on the planet.

Not dying was the easy part.

Now, a year later, they navigate a bleak world…one without technology, without modern medicine, and without law and order. They must unify their diverse strengths not only to rebuild civilization, but to battle those who would use brutality to forge empires.

The plague cleansed the world of mediocrity. The survivors possess the intellect and vision to save humankind.

Random Renaissance Era Tidbits:

Blue was the most expensive color to create for Renaissance painters. The best blue (ultramarine) was created by grinding a semi-precious stone (lapis lazuli). This color was so expensive to create that many painters went their entire careers without using any ultramarine blue color. A cheaper alternative was to use ground glass but this was difficult to work with and the glass tended to settle to the bottom which caused the color to fade.

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